The Omni-Wolf’s Choice novel Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Meeting the Elders…

Ryder’s POV

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“Hey, Bridget. How’s your day been?” I stand the moment I see her, and I pull her close like there isn’t a room full of eyes on us. I breathe her in, and she gives this soft little laugh against my chest.

“Oh, it’s been good,” she says. “Honestly, I can’t complain. I’ve met a ton of people already. Jasper’s been really helpful.”

The name alone drags a low growl out of both Talon and me. Any guy doing anything for her-anyone who isn’t me-still hits wrong. Jasper drops his gaze and tips his head down, throat bared in submission.

Bridget’s fingers settle on my arm, steady and sure.

Just like that, my edge eases.

I give Jasper a curt nod, permission to step away.

Alpha, there was a situation. It’s been handled. I’ll brief you after the meeting,’ Jasper sends through

the mind-link.

I answer without moving my face. ‘When we’re done here, meet me in my office. And thank you.’

Bridget’s mouth twitches, almost a smirk-there and gone so fast I’m not sure I caught it. She couldn’t

have heard that. Could she?

From the head of the table, my father clears his throat. I take the chair to his left, and Bridget sits on my other side. Around us: only top-ranking Alphas from the region and the elders themselves. Bridget smooths her palms down the front of her cream dress, floral and fitted like it was sewn onto her.

I decide, instantly, that dress needs to be destroyed. No one else needs to see her like this.

“Thank

you for being here, dear,” my father says, voice formal. “Let’s begin. Bridget-these are the elders: Evangeline, Preston, and Lysander.”

Across from her, the three elders sit composed and watchful.

Evangeline inclines her head and speaks first. She’s Asian, wrapped in a red robe threaded with gold. She raises both hands, and light blooms between her palms-bright, clean, almost blinding. It hangs there like a sphere of living illumination.

“Thank you, Alpha, for reaching out,” she says. “Bridget, I’m Evangeline. We’ve been combing through every account connected to what you’ve witnessed. We have theories, but we need to speak directly

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< Chapter 13 Meeting the Elders..

with the future Luna.”

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The glowing orb shifts, and shapes begin to form inside it-not faces, more like silhouettes, outlines acting out a remembered tale.

“When I was a child,” Evangeline continues, “I was told a story that was already centuries old. It spoke of a wolf of extraordinary strength-born of royalty and a pure-blooded alpha. Magic would live inside her, magic capable of saving every species… provided it was used with good intent.

The images drift and pulse as she talks.

Preston takes the light into his own hands, and the vision changes. Earth appears-then fire. Then figures running, screams implied by the frantic

Motion.

“The child’s abilities would need discipline,” Preston says, voice even while the scene turns violent. “Training would be required to draw out full potential. Without proper guidance, the power could turn dangerous-devastating to everyone nearby. The chosen one would be immense, but what she or he could truly do was never clearly defined. No one has ever confirmed the wolf existed; over time, the story became something people dismissed as folklore.”

Bridget’s fingers clamp tighter around mine. I lace my hand fully with hers and rub my thumb over her skin, slow and grounding.

Her heart is racing. Fear sits in her like a storm front. I know what happens when her head starts hurting-how the sky can answer her pain.

Lysander receives the floating light next, and the imagery softens. The ruined earth repairs itself: green spreading, forests returning, water spilling down cliffs in bright waterfalls.

“If we can uncover this wolf’s past,” Lysander says, “we can guide them toward peace-toward balance for the entire planet.”

Bridget swallows. “I’m sorry, but… how do you know that wolf is me? What if I’m just-normal? What if I don’t have powers, or a wolf at all?”

She still holds on like she’s afraid letting go might make everything collapse. I’m not letting her go

either.

Lysander’s tone doesn’t change. “We can run a sequence of tests at the training grounds. Your abi lities could be dormant. There may be a protection spell on you since you’re already over eighteen. You r wolf might even be suppressing your power until it decides you’re prepared.”

He studies her carefully. “I was told you’ll be twenty in about two weeks. If you truly are the chosen one, your gifts could surface at any point between now and your birthday. We should begin immediately-see whether we can rouse what’s sleeping. It will be exhausting. At times, it will be

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frightening. But if we’re right, the world will come for you. Some will want you for what you can do, and not for who you are. We need you trained, and we need you protected.”

I turn Bridget’s face toward mine, making her meet my eyes. “Are you alright?”

Her breath leaves her in a shaky exhale. “This is insane. How could that be me? A special wolf-me?

I’m just a regular person. Nothing about me is special. I don’t feel like this is my story.”

“It is now,” I say quietly. “And I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be with you through all of it.”

Then I look back to the elders. “When do we start?”

“Tomorrow,” Evangeline answers.

My father nods. “Guest rooms are prepared for you, and for the warriors who escorted Bridget through

the portals.”

They acknowledge him, and at the edge of my awareness Connor hits my mind-link.

‘You think the rogue sightings and that attack could be other wolves-or other supernaturals-who already know she’s here?’ Connor asks.

I keep my expression calm. ‘I hope not. But if that’s what this is, we protect my mate. No matter what

it costs.’

I glance at Bridget and give her a small smile, though my stomach stays tight. She doesn’t know what’s unfolding, and if I’m honest, neither do I. I only know one thing for certain: I will make sure she has every weapon, every skill, every ounce of support to become the fiercest warrior and Luna she can

Bridget looks up at me with a crease between her brows.

“What is it?” I ask.

“I’m not afraid of you protecting me,” she says slowly. “I’m scared that I’m supposed to protect… everyone.”

My blood chills. “You heard me?”

Every head turns. The air in the room goes still.

Bridget glances around, suddenly unsure. “Yes. It was… kind of static, like the connection was messy, but I heard it. You were talking to Beta Connor.”

My father leans forward. “You can only hear a mind-link if you belong to the pack. Have you been

back?”

< Chapter 13 Meeting the Elders

Voices flicker-mind-links, overlapping

‘Fascinating…’

‘Maybe she’s the one…”

‘There’s power here. There has to be…’

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Bridget presses her lips together, then releases a slow breath. “Elders, please. One at a time. It’s too much all at once.” Her gaze lands on my father. “And yes-Alpha Benedict, right? I can hear you, too.”

Silence.

Not just ours. Them. Other Alphas. The elders.

That kind of access isn’t normal. It’s not even supposed to be possible.

“What?” someone whispers.

‘Babe, no one can do that,’ I send to her, trying to keep my own alarm from bleeding through

Evangeline peers over her glasses, voice sharpened by disbelief. “No one has ever been able to do

that.”

Bridget’s fear spikes; I feel it like a surge.

‘It’s okay,’ I tell her through the link, because now I know she can hear me. ‘You’re safe.’

She looks at me like the ground has shifted under her feet.

Lysander’s calm turns decisive. “Lock this room down. Immediately.”

My father doesn’t hesitate. He reaches to the keypad at his side and inputs commands. Mechanisms

click. The doors seal.

“What she’s just demonstrated cannot leave this room,” Lysander says. “Information like this is a weapon. Everyone present is either elite pack leadership or royal blood. We’ve sworn a blood oath to our people. We will extend that oath to Luna Bridget.”

Preston nods once. “Agreed. We must alert the King and Queen. They need to be fully informed, and they will likely request to meet her. For her safety, it may be best for Luna Bridget to relinquish her title and live within the royal castle, under the protection of their elite guard.”

Rage detonates in my chest.

“She’s my mate,” I thunder, Talon and I pushing my voice together until it shakes the room. “A gift from the moon goddess herself. She is not giving up anything, and she is not being taken anywhere.”

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My father’s gaze cuts to me, steady. “Enough, son. Bridget will not be leaving this pack.”

Preston exhales-irritated, but he nods, accepting the line drawn.

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Bridget tightens her grip on my hand like she’s anchoring herself to me. “I’m not leaving,” she says, voice firming. “I won’t. This is where I’m staying.”

Then her eyes begin to glow.

Gasps ripple around the table.

“Look at me,” I say, lowering my voice for her alone. “I swear it. This is your home. You will be protected here, and you’ll be trained so you can protect yourself too.

I lift my chin toward the elders. “We can request that the King and Queen send royal guards to reinforce the land. I trained with them. I trust them. They can help sharpen our warriors-men and women-and anyone else who wants to stand with my Luna.”.

Bridget’s hand loosens, the tension bleeding out in small increments. The elders exchange looks, then

nod.

This is not a fight they’re going to win.

If anyone tries to take her from me, I’ll go to war-against packs, against royals, against fate itself.

‘Well done, son,’ my father sends through the link.

Bridget turns her face up and gives me a fragile smile, and for the first time since she walked into the room, the air feels like it might actually hold.

The Omni Wolf’s Choice